Angels among us

Volunteers embody the best we can be

There is an enormous amount in this world to feel bad about: poverty, disease, and war seem to dictate virtually every news cycle. But every now and again, a story comes along that reminds us that we are also capable of so much that is good.

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capecodtimes.com

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Posted Jan. 4, 2014 at 2:05 AM

Posted Jan. 4, 2014 at 2:05 AM

» Social News

There is an enormous amount in this world to feel bad about: poverty, disease, and war seem to dictate virtually every news cycle. But every now and again, a story comes along that reminds us that we are also capable of so much that is good.

Such was the case over the holidays when members of the Cape Cod Synagogue opened their doors to provide a Christmas meal for those who needed it most. This year's event was the latest in a three-decade tradition that began at Hyannis' NOAH Shelter and moved three years ago to the synagogue. For Christmas 2013, 60 volunteers, including both members of the congregation and others, served up full turkey dinners to the needy.

The Cape Cod Synagogue is not alone in its generous spirit. The Salvation Army offers meals to the homeless every weekday at its Hyannis facility. The Cape Cod Council of Churches operates The Baby Center in Hyannis. Brax Landing in Harwich Port has organized and held an annual Thanksgiving dinner for many years, providing a table, a warm meal, and good conversation for those who may be missing one or all of those elements at their. Other houses of worship, as well as secular groups and kindhearted individuals, have also reached out to those who need it most. Beyond food, however, these events offer something that does not appear on any menu; something that is arguably far more sustaining than any possible meal: companionship and compassion.

These latter two elements seem to be in short supply these days, even during the holiday season.

Perhaps it is because we seem to become more polarized in our discussions and debates each year, with fewer and fewer individuals seeking out a middle ground and reaching instead for the extremes. We see this not only in political spheres, but also among friends and families, many of whom seem reluctant to bring up such matters for fear of sparking anger. Thus, we decide to keep our mouths shut, confident that our own views, regardless of what they are, represent the only reasonable perspective.

In a world that appears to be increasingly acrimonious and even hostile to the concept of compromise, the Cape Cod Synagogue, the Cape Cod Council of Churches, the Salvation Army and other groups provide us with more than a heartwarming tale about the season. It provides us with an element of hope, an element that is, to paraphrase Shakespeare, twice blest: it blesses the person who gives it as well as the person who receives it.

For those who partake of these holiday meals, there is the hope that the next year will bring with it a chance for better things. For those who serve, it provides a gift that can only come from a place of selflessness.

When Abraham Lincoln stood before the people of the United States to take the oath of the office of president for the first time, he closed his inaugural speech by appealing to "the better angels of our nature." He hoped that reason and compassion would outweigh the divisive forces that were threatening to tear this nation in two. Even after that wish evaporated in a spray of wrath and bloodshed, Lincoln remained optimistic that this country would again come together and break bread at the same table.

The members of the Cape Cod Synagogue and other volunteers demonstrate that these better angels are already among us. More than their words, we see through their actions what we can accomplish when we allow compassion rather than divisiveness to define our actions.